SINGING
by ULYFERAL
Summary: A family talent, a trap and a host of characters. A short bit of fluff and nonsense.


**SINGING**

_Author's Note: A short bit of fluff and nonsense and what if. Enjoy! (The song I chose for them to sing to the Queen is from Sarah Brightman's Diva CD, "Just Show Me How to Love You.", a duet with Jose Cura)_

Trapped in a crystal between dimensions thanks to the Pastmaster, the Swat Kats, Feral, Felina, Callie, Steele and a witch named M'Fina from another dimension, stared at each other helplessly.

"We've got to get out of here!" T-Bone snarled hitting his fist against the wall making the crystal ring.

"I'm open to suggestions, buddy." Razor sighed in frustration having already studied every inch of the walls and finding no way out.

"Please get us out of here. I don't do small places very well. I think I'm going to be sick!" whined Steele.

"Don't you dare!" Feral growled menacingly.

"I will kill that little troll if I can ever get my hands on him!" snarled M'Fina.

"Wait in line!" Felina grumbled sourly.

"Does anyone have a constructive solution to our problem?" Callie asked to try and distract everyone and keep the peace.

"The only way out of here is music. To be exact, two voices, male and female, in the right range to break the crystal. Unless we got some hidden talent in here, we are stuck until Pastmaster decides to let us out." M'Fina said irritably.

Everyone just looked at each other. "Well I used to sing in a choir when I was young!" Callie said hesitantly.

"I can sing" Steele said smugly.

"What? 'Mary had a little lamb'?" T-Bone snorted derisively.

"I bet all you can do is grunt, SWAT Kat." Steele curled his lip at the tabby.

"Hey, stuff it you two. Let's hear it blondie!" M'Fina ordered.

Steele cleared his throat and sang in a, surprisingly, beautiful high tenor voice.

"Very nice, but not the right range. It has to be a baritone and a soprano." M'Fina sighed in disappointment.

The SWAT Kats looked at each and shrugged. "Sorry neither of us can sing, not even in the shower." Razor said.

"You said you sang before, let's hear you." M'Fina said pointing at Callie.

Callie obliged but her voice was too soft and wavered a bit."Sorry, like I said it's been awhile." Callie apologized.

During all this, Feral and Felina had been strangely quiet. They both looked at each and looked away in discomfort. Finally Felina spoke up, unhappily, "We can sing."

"Okay, so let's hear it! M'Fina sighed resignedly, then looked at the pair more closely, "Uh!...Why do you both look like you rather be shot than sing?" the witch asked puzzled.

Feral answered this time, " We come from a generation of singers. The Feral Clan has been recognized as breeding the most talented singers. Felina and I, however, have been blacklisted by the family. We turned our backs on it as soon as we were of age to join the enforcers. The family has never forgiven us for forsaking our talent. It wouldn't have mattered much if we had been just so-so singers, unfortunately, I have the strongest and most versatile range of a baritone my family has seen in years." Feral said flatly.

"And I was the best soprano they'd ever heard. So when we turned our backs on it, our family was furious." Felina finished.

"So how long were you forced to be singers?" the witch smiled in amusement.

"Till I was 19." Feral growled.

"It was 18 for me." Felina snorted.

"That's perfect. That means you were well trained and since it's an innate talent you should be able to free us." the witch said excitedly. "Okay, all you have to do is sustain the highest note you can for as long as you can." She instructed them.

"The best way I guess is doing a scale to warm our voices though I haven't done any of this for at least two decades." Feral grimaced. "I'm not really certain I can."

"We have no choice. Just do your best." M'Fina urged them.

"Yeah, I know. Ready Felina?" Feral asked. Felina nodded. In unison they began at the lowest they both were capable of then slowly sang their way up the scale. Everyone stared in amazement at the incredibly beautiful harmony and power of the pair's voices. Holding each note for at least thirty seconds before moving to the next, their voices rose higher and higher. Feral's voice was awe inspiring as he finally reached the highest range he was capable with Felina's high sweet voice complementing his. They held that last note for a solid minute. The sound was overwhelming in that small space.

Around them the crystal began to run with cracks but no one noticed. They were too fascinated with the pair and that one long note. As Feral and Felina let the note fade away, one could still hear it ringing in their ears along with the definite sound of tinkling as the crystal shattered around them. Once the crystal began to break, M'Fina quickly cast a spell to take them to the closest pool of magic she could sense.

They suddenly found themselves in the castle throne room of Queen Callista. She was holding court at the time they appeared. Their sudden appearance at the foot of the throne caused considerable consternation among all those in the room.

"Sir Razor, Sir T-Bone, what manner of magic has brought you here again and where is your strange flying device?" the Queen asked from her throne.

"Oh, Hi! Your majesty. The Pastmaster is responsible for our being here. He trapped us in a magical crystal which we just escaped from with the help of this spell caster named M'Fina from another world. Can you return us to our own time and M'Fina to her world?" Razor asked bowing respectfully.

"It would be my pleasure to aid you in returning you to your rightful places. However, we must wait until tonight during the full moon. You are fortunate that it is the right moon cycle for such a large spell. Until then, please be my guests. I will have food and drink provided and you are welcome to sit and listen as I finish my court duties. Afterwards, I would be pleased to hear all about your adventure that brought you to us." Queen Callista said as she signaled a servant to bring food and gestured to her guests to be seated near her.

As bowls of pepper pot stew and large flagons of milk were placed before them, Razor gave a warning, "This is really good stew but very spicy so beware."

"Ahh, I can handle anything." Steele sneered and took a healthy mouthful of stew. Seconds later his face was red and he was gasping as he reached for his milk and gulped it all down and urgently demanded more. Everyone smirked at his antics. Forewarned, Callie only took a little bite and gasped as well, quickly drinking her milk and deciding not to eat anymore. As for the rest, except for red and sweating faces they ate the stew with gusto.

Court lasted only another hour and at its end, Queen Callista gestured for them to relate what had happened to them.

T-Bone started the tale, "Well we were actually fighting another criminal and had just finished capturing him and were physically handing him over to the enforcers when the Pastmaster suddenly shows up. Oddly enough, he doesn't say anything just shines his watch at us and kinda rushes through a spell that snatches not only Razor and I but these three (pointing at Feral, Felina, and Steele) and dumps us into this crystal cage."

"Apparently, Pastmaster had snuck in sooner, because he grabbed me from my office before he went after the others and she was already in the cage (indicating M'Fina)." Callie added.

"I was taken from my home world of Lentora while I was instructing a group of young witches in my coven. We've had encounters with that little troll before. Normally, we are too powerful for him but he did the same trick with me as with them." M'Fina explained. "The crystal prison was suspended between worlds to prevent us from being able to escape."

"Sounds like a fearsome place, how came you to free yourselves?" asked the Captain of the Queen's guards.

"Certain noises make waves in the air that you can't see. The problem was to find the right noise to break the crystal. Music is usually the best way. Fortunately for all of us, it turned out two of our group were trained as singers when young. It was their truly exceptional voices that freed us and a spell cast by me to find the nearest well of magic which was here." M'Fina summed up the tale.

"Astounding! You must have wondrous voices to have freed you. Perhaps you would grant us the honor of hearing you sing?" The Queen asked.

Groaning inwardly Feral and Felina looked at each other in dismay. Turning to the Queen, Feral said, "Your pardon, Queen Callista, but my niece and I have not sung in many years and are quite out of practice."

"Surely, someone who was trained from a young age has not forgotten how, sir?" the Queen said calling his bluff.

Neither of them wanted to insult the Queen nor make her angry since she was willing to help get them home. Sighing Feral stood with Felina and moved to one side of the throne. They discussed briefly what song they both remembered enough of to sing without messing up too much.

"It would help if we had music to accompany us." Felina sighed.

"Oh, I can help with that. Let me cast a quick spell." M'Fina said happily. She spoke some words in a strange language. "There, as soon as you begin the first note, the magic will take the song from your minds and produce the music you need." She said pleased with herself.

Felina began the song in a beautifully sweet voice, the words in another language. Moments later, as Felina paused and Feral began his solo part, the room was still, no sound but their soaring voices could be heard. When they sang together their voices blended in stunning richness and beauty. Felina ended the song alone. After the last note faded away, the silence was deafening, then a roar of approval flowed over them.

The Queen raised her hand and silence fell once more. "No words can describe the awe we all felt as you sang. Never have I heard singing such as this. I will treasure this gift. Thank you both."

Blushing, Felina and Feral bowed awkwardly and quickly took their seats again. More milk was brought to them and they drank gratefully. The rest of the day was spent in conversation and tours of the castle and grounds. It was a fascinating look into the past for the Megakat katizens. M'Fina spent a great deal of time in the Queen's company trading magical secrets, methods and ways it was used in each of their worlds. Finally, evening came and they gathered together in the Queen's warded work room. While they waited, the Queen with some assistance from M'Fina made preparations for their return to the future.

Queen Callista gestured to Callie to come to her. "Calico, you are my descendant I believe?" She said smiling warmly at Callie.

"So I've been told, your majesty. It's an honor to meet you in person." Callie said smiling back.

"And I am pleased to have met you. Now, because you are my descendant magic flows through your veins even though it is dormant. I wish to draw on that hidden power to aid in returning you to your rightful place. You will act as a beacon for the magic to focus on. I promise you will not be harmed." She stated calmly.

"Okay. I'll do whatever you need me to do." Callie agreed though a little nervous about it.

"Thank you." Queen Callista moved to stand near her scrying pool that served as her window into time. "Everyone going to our city in the future, please stand together. Hold hands and do not let go until your world settles around you. Safe journey to you." She said and cast the spell to send them home.

The fabric of space and time warped around them wildly threatening to pull them apart. With a loud roar of noise and bright disorienting light they landed hard on their feet in front of city hall. They stood there for a moment trying to recover their wits.

"Wow! Are we all in one piece?" T-Bone mumbled still shaking his head to clear it.

"Uh...Looks like it." Felina said a bit shakily.

Feral blinked a few times and took a deep breath. "It certainly looks like we are back." Looking around. That's when Mayor Manx came down the steps, "Callie, thank goodness yourr back. I was afraiid you were lost foreverr." He said in relief. "That nasty creature, Pastmaster, disappeared when you did. Hasn't been back since, thankfully."

"Yep, we're back!" Razor said in relief. "Wonder what that creep was trying to do? Oh well, that's a problem for another day. Let's find the Turbokat and get home, T-Bone." Shrugging off the puzzle for now.

"I'm with you, sure-shot." T-Bone agreed and walked off toward the last location of their jet.

"I'll hail a taxi, Uncle since none of us has a radio." Felina said briskly. Her uncle nodded, a shaken Steele standing close by him.

It had been a hell of a day!


End file.
